OvestBwsters
v The Adventurer's \ourmA S
Number 109
}ourm\
Special Tom\* Hxrtnng Issue
Not sold in Olympic Villages
$H AB>®W$ ©IF DARKNE$$
he Quest for Glory games are unique
because they're repayable, adventure/
role-playing hybrids that are thor-
oughly challenging and entertaining. Quest
for Glory : Shadows of Darkness, the fourth in
the series, continues that fine tradition.
Sierra removed the number from the title
this time, so I can only hope that means
that there are more than the originally
scheduled five games on the way. It would
not be difficult for co-designers/husband-
and-wife team Lori and Corey Cole to
continue the series in a variety of settings,
but for now players can enjoy the equally
funny and spooky Shadows of Darkness.
Shadows takes place in a strange Euro-
pean Land called Mordavia — the kind of
place that you don't hear about except
during the Olympics. You arrive and are
virtually stuck in the town, surrounding
forest and swamp. People are at first wary of
you because you appeared in a cave
believed to be
the site of a
strange cult's
practices to bring
back the Dark
Ones, a group of
ancient creatures
akin to the Old
Ones of H. P.
Lovecraft's
Cthulhu Mythos.
In feet, much of
that wacky
designer Corey
Cole's groan-inducing humor revolves
around horror cliches and H. P. Lovecraft
stories in particular. The people begin to
accept you as you prove your heroism in
various circumstances, but that doesn't
solve the mysteries in the town. You must
rr
Type Animated adventure
System IBM Required 386+
(486 recommended), four megs
RAM, hard disk, mouse, 256-
color VGA, DOS 5.0+. Supports
Sound Blaster, Ad Lib, Pro Audio
& 16, Roland MT-32 & U\PC,
Microsoft Sound, General MIDI
Planned ports ibm cd
Inj Rvjss Ceccola
prevent the influx of evil influences in
Moldavia and get to the heart of the
disappearances and other strange
occurrences in the game.
The Questfor Glory game system lets
you choose from
three character
types at the start
of the game. You
may also import a
character from a
previous Questfor
Glory game if you
saved it, but no
previous experi-
ence is necessary.
Your quest
varies significantly
for each type of character, so it is certain
that Shadows warrants replay. The three
characters are: Fighter, Magic User and
Thief. [You may also use a Paladin if you
have a saved game from
the previous programs; at
least one puzzle can be
solved only by a Paladin.]
You must use your
brawn to play the game as
a Fighter, magic powers
and intelligence to
succeed as a Magic-User,
and cunning and stealth
to win as aThief. In all
three versions, you build
up your characters
throughout the quest until
you can stand among the
best of your character type.
Shadows uses the standard Sierra
interface, with some enhancements for
each character type. An additional icon
on the control panel at the top of the
screen brings up special options such as
sleeping, time of day and moving
stealthily. These options are the meat of the
game's variety. You can use certain Thief skills
to solve a particular puzzle, but as a Magic
User you might use a spell. Fighters mostly
use their strength to solve the game's puzzles.
An Adventurer's
Guild in the
town helps you
develop your
skills and will
have different
training help
based on
character types.
Fighters have
weight equip-
ment, while
Thieves have
locks to pick
In addition to the typical object-oriented
puzzles you would expect in a Sierra game,
Shadows also features some arcade-like
combat, graphic puzzles and conversation
trees.
You get a lot of information about events
Continued on page 14
Contents
Adventure Road 2
Gabriel Knight 3
Winter CES Report 4
Dragonsphere preview 7
CD Central 8
Iron Helix 9
Walkrhru:Sam&Max ..10
Keys to the Kingdoms ... 1 2
Swap Shop 15
-
PKJtOflt
fm inrlprQ \x/hn Wpr mnvprl nvpr hn FA T rprf
Recent releases
Warriors of legend is the latest of Virgin's
Conan role-playing games. This time you
have a multiple-character party instead
of just a lone warrior, and get to use
magic for the first time in these games.
In a few months, look for Siena's mm 2
and Goblins Quest (AKA Goblins 3). See
page eight for Siena's upcoming CD
releases.
Dynamix "delays" Krondor
Or did they? Thief oj Dreams, the sequel
to Betrayal at Krondor, was initially killed
in January. Dynamix also let Jon Cutter,
the game's designer, go at the same
time. It simply didn't return as much
money as a simulation would have, the
reasoning reportedly went
But after a few weeks — and a tidal
wave of negative reaction on Com-
puServe and other networks — a
mysterious news release announced the
sequel was being "delayed" while the
"...development team is reassigned to
other projects that are due for release in
1994." They expect the same team to
develop other novel-based games, which
"...could include the sequel to Betrayal at
Krondor, in 1995." Final decision is
expected in a month or so.
Industry news
MCA just bought a "significant minority
share" of Interplay's stock, giving
Interplay access to MCA's vast library of
book, films, records and theme parks,
not to mention Matsushita's technology.
The plan is for Interplay to develop
MCA properties in conjunction with
Universal Interactive Studios. About the
same time, Interplay acquired Norths tar
Studios, founded by Ron Spitzer. Spitzer
was one of New World Computing's
founders who later moved over to EA
and Crystal Dynamics.
Imagination Network news
Sierra and AT&T's Imagination Network
(formerly The Siena Network) will open
up the door to interactive gaming for
Sega owners who get AT&T's new Edge
16 device this fall. They'll be able to
participate in multiplier games such as
The Shadow of Yserbius , and even talk to
each other simultaneously on the phone
while playing. In addition to playing via
the INN system, you can also call
another person and play head-to-head
games.
Bug report
If you can't get on the subway in Innocent
Until Caugjrt, you'll need a new game.
Some of the disks in the firstshipment
had a bug that prevents you from doing
so. The first shipment oQuestfor Ghry N
also had problems with a DOS extender;
patches are available on CompuServe and
direct ftom Siena.
Where in the Underworld
is Carmen Sandiego?
This will reportedly be the name of
Electronic Arts' next game after their
recent merger with Broderbund.
Interactive spooks
Activision is developing "interactive
espionage thrillers" under the direction
of former CIA chief William Colby. The
first in this new line is scheduled for early
1995 for IBM and later that year for Mac.
Swap Shop & Clues
In case you missed the fine print last
issue, we're now charging for Swap Shop
ads. Not money, though - with your ad,
just include a clue that hasn't appeared
m Keys to the Kingdoms. Please type all ads
and clues. Thanks, and have a nice
quest
I recently purchased a CD
drive for my 486 and for all the "bigger
and better" games that this new medium
should allow. But now I have a new
problem: when to buy a game. I find
myself postponing game purchases,
hoping a CD version will appear. When
you review a new game, please let us
know if the CD version will differ
significantly.
Eldon Anderson
The specs box accompanying each review
indicates if a CD version is planned and will
usually provide the projected release date.
And our new CD Central column will point
out which CDs truly take advantage of the
medium's potential (Hopefully some
marketing execs at the companies will read
your letter andfinalby realize why some of
their games aren't selling as well as expected -
- everyone with a CD drive is waitingfor the
CD version.)
duesi&usters
Editor: Shay Addams
Managing Editor: Dora McCormick
Editorial Consultant: Edgar Schrock
News Editor: Shane
Contributing Editors: Russ Ceccola,
Al Giovetti, Bernie Yee, Fred J.
Philipp, Clancy Shaffer, Ken St.
Andre, Brian Smith, Bruce Wiley,
Duffy, This Reviewer
QuestBusters, ye official journal of the
QuestBusters Guild, is published
monthly by "It hurts so much!" Inc.
Annual dues: $19 ($6 extra for
Adventure Express). Canada/Mexico:
$26. Overseas: $36. Contents Copy-
right 1993 Eldritch, LTD. All Rights
Reserved. This issue was published in
February, 1994. Copying without
express permission is prohibited and
punishable by breaking both your
Member:
South American
Explorers'
REVIEW
Gabriel Knight
If the result of designing a King s
Quest adventure is a departure to the
complete opposite end of the gaming
spectrum, then let's hope Kings Quest
VTs co-designers Jane Jensen and
Roberta Williams design another one
every year. Williams is off in production
on Sierra's first CD-only game, a
terrifying thriller called Vhcmtasmagoria.
Jensen just released Gabriel Knight, a
supernatural game involving voodoo and
ancient curses.
Both designers have shown incredible
creativity with their products. Q've
always thought that too much of King
Graham and his royal family might
backfire and send someone toward the
"dark side" of entertainment.) But
Jensen's game shows the effects of years
of exposure to thrillers, horror novels
and comic books. Gabriel Knight just
may surprise a lot of gamers with its
spooky atmosphere, story depth and
strong characterization. And the CD
version is an experience that's downright
suspenseful.
Type Animated adventure
System ibm & ibm cd-
ROM Required: 386+ (486
recommended), 4 megs RAM,
hard disk, mouse, VGA, DOS
5.0+. Supports: Sound
Blaster, Ad Lib, Roland MT-32
& LAPC, Microsoft sound
system, General Midi
Planned ports
none
Down
on the
bayou
Gabriel
Knight's
story has
such
depth
that it
would
ruin your
discovery
of
various plot elements to go into too
much detail. It suffices to say that you
control Knight, a New Orleans writer
and book shop owner - the last member
of a family of "Shadow-hunters" - as he
confronts the horrific and seemingly
prophetic images in his dreams.
Frighteningly real to him, the dreams get
worse each night.
In the midst of writing a book on
voodoo, Gabriel must decide whether to
abandon the writing or continue,
knowing full well the effect his enemies
may have on him. Gabriel Knight is as
much a race against time, as it is an
adventure game of exploration and
discovery.
Conversations
and glimpses
into past
history hint at
the true
nature of the
dreams and
their dire
implications.
Gnm&ks
Siena fens
will master the interface quickly, for it is
nothing more complicated than any
other Sierra game. It has the side-view
perspective employed by most Siena
games, but there are many cinematic
scenes and a few other interfaces that
depart from the side view when
necessary.
Mouse control is best for this game.
Use the right mouse button to scroll
through the major command icons,
such as look, talk, walk and use, and the
left icon to perform the action. You can
also pop up an icon bar if that seems
easier. Siema wisely continued the
process of placing a colored dot on each
inventory object so you know exactly
where its active spot is located. [A hi-res
mouse makes this much easier to use.]
Jensen added a lot of style and depth
to Gabriel Knigfrt. In addition to simply
talking to characters, you can interrogate
them about other people, places and
objects. Similar to the Dagger of Amon Ra
interface, this set-up allows you to obtain
a character's information by simply
clicking on an entry from a lis t of
available topics while in interrogation
mode.
As an added bonus, you can access
bvj Rviss CeccoU
the dialogue of any interrogation with a
special recorder icon. Click on the
recorder, and you will see a case of
cassette tape icons, one for each
character you Ve interrogated. Reviewing
these tapes is important, because it will
be tough to
remember
every conver-
sation and
piece of
information.
You use these
tapes in much
the same way
as Return to
Zork : by
playing them
back to other
characters for their response.
There are many interesting and
challenging puzzles. The game is as
much a mystery as it is a thrill, for
discovering the plot is as important a
puzzle as the more obvious object-
oriented ones. At certain times you will
also have to write a message in a voodoo
code and a drum beat code, as well as
translate the drum beats you hear.
Special interfaces make these functions
easy. Puzzles like these expand the scope
of a game and make it far more atmo-
spheric.
Quest noir
The thriller's graphics are dark and
brooding, like many of the characters
and the area of New Orleans where the
game takes place. The game has the look
and feel of a Blade Runner/Bram Stoker's
Dracula combination, which makes
perfect sense once you know that these
movies are among a list of Jensen's
favorite influences.
The use of cinematic scenes is
particularly important because the
collection of images in some of the
nightmares is sometimes terrifying.
Comics fens will also enjoy the added
bonus that comes in the package - a
Continued on page 1 5
QuesiBusters
SPECIAL REPORT
Winter C.E.S.
ie weather outside is
fiightful....stop the snow, stop
the snow, stop the snow!!! Yes,
folks, this issue of QuestBusters was
delayed because I took so long to send
in my article. I was busy outside
shoveling away the ice and snow that
pelted the Philadelphia area from the
day I left for CES in Las Vegas until the
middle of February. If it's not ice skaters
with truncheons or aging rock stars with
jailbait tendencies, it's the weath-er.
Bnrmr....
Access
While Amazon was the culmination of
Access's adventure game technology to
that point in time, Under A Killing Moon
leaps far beyond the triumphs of that
South American episodic nightmare.
This new Tex Murphy adventure will
feature talent like Brian Keith, Margot
Kidder and Russell Means in a cinematic
sci-fi adventure with a simple point-and-
click interface. Expect to see a lot of TV
coverage because of the stars in the
game . We know here that the game will
be more exciting than the actresses and
actors themselves because it continues
the adventures of one of gaming's best-
loved detectives. It will fill two CDs and
could be out in the next month.
Activision
Activision did not have any new
adventure games to see at the show, but
the rumors are true that Return to ZorVs
producer, Eddie Dombrower, will
continue the revival of classic Infocom
worlds and characters when he works
on the next game in the PknetfaB/
StationfaR saga. Gonzo game developer
Steve Meretzky will be involved, and
Eddie confessed that Floyd may very
well live again!
Capstone
If you overlook the incredible announce-
ments that Capstone plans on
hx\ Kuss CcccoU
T
producing games based on Rescue 91 1
and the upcoming Zorro movie (they've
got me stumped), as well as a Rintstones
vs.Jetsons
chess game,
you'll
discover their
hot new
Wo^enstem
3D-type
game,
Corridor 7,
which uses
that system's
engine.
Corridor 7 r isa
fest-paced Interplay's
exciting
adventure that will surely satisfy all of
the fens of this type of game with tons of
action/combat, exciting music and
smooth-scrolling graphics.
Electronic Arts
Following the cue of Gabriel Knight and
other "adult" adventure games,
Sectronic Arts planned a tense thriller
called Noctropohs. It's a dark and moody
game in which you get pulled into the
comic book world of your favorite
heroes — Darksheer and Stiletto.
You have to prevent the bad guys in
that world from crossing over into our
world, and then find your way back
before it's too late. Noctropohs has an
intuitive pop-up interface and lots of
cinematic touches that highlight the
adult situations and graphic horror
scenes for which they enlisted a
Hollywood makeup effects artist
Interplay
Stonekeep will be here by summer,
featuring a hologram on its box as a neat
bonus. Starfleet Academy is the next Star
Trek g^me on the burner, but there was
nothing to see at this CES except a few
rendered introduction screens. Interplay
will distribute I-Motion's two hot new
adventures I mentioned before: Alone in
iheDark2 and CaR of Cthuhu [based on
the H. P. Lovecraft classic] . Both of
these will be exciting horror games with
that European feel that makes them so
special.
Stonekeep
Legend
Entertain-
ment
Steve Mer-
etzky's next
project for
Legend will be
Superhero
Imgueoj
Hobohen, an
adventure/RPG
hybrid that will
be a new type of game for both
Meretzky and Legend. This time he
attacks the wonderful state of New
Jersey (somebody had to!) .
Hoboken is the center of this game's
nuclear-blasted world, where you guide
a bunch of weird superheroes against
mutant monsters lite Steroid Man and
your arch-nemesis Dr. Entropy.
Superhero Imgue has elements of the
Xanth interlace and RPG combat
interfaces, so players will have a
completely new experience with laugh-
out-loud humor.
LucasArts
LucasArts only had a CD-ROM talkie
version of Sam and Max Hit the Road to
show as far as new adventures go. The
Dig is no further along since Brian
Moriarty left LucasArts and the project,
but the new designer, Sean Clark, will
keep the ball rolling. The Dig, now
planned as a CD-only title, will be
LucasArts's big adventure for 1994 for
sure.
Luminaria
A new T company has a CD product on
u\eway,WrathoftheGods, that deals
with the gods of old. You have to
actively take part in many of the legends
of the Greek gods in this photo-realistic
4
QuestBusters
Quest Report
adventure that uses a simple interface.
The CD features tons of digitized
pictures, actors and actresses, sound
effects and
speech.
Merit
Gilbert Austin,
formerly of
Origin, has the
most horrific,
disturbing
game ever.
Harvester is a
waking
nightmare in a
small town
where
everything strange seems connected to
the eerie lodge on the outskirts. This
CD-ROM features graphic, bloody
scenes, unsettling plot twists and a Twin
Peaks-ish atmosphere that will keep
players on the edge of their seats.
MicroProse
Dragon Sphere should be out soon [see
preview in this issue] , but MicroProse
isn't doing any more adventure games.
Dragon Sphere uses the Rex Nebular
interface and new RPG controls in an
epic game with a major plot twist right
in the middle of the game.
Mindcraft
The Giyphon Masters is Mindcraft's RPG
based on Celtic mythology, the first in
the series that will replace The Magic
Candle this Spring. It uses a 32-bit
engine, isometric 3-D graphics and a
unique "no hit points" damage system.
Mindcraft's fantasy-based strategy game,
Dominion, also looked challenging.
New World Computing
NWC's first graphic adventure is an
original. Inherit the Earth: Quest for the
Orb, is about a world populated with
animals instead of people. It's due in
April. They were also showing Heroes of
ASTROGAT I OH
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Might and Magic, which combines
elements of Might & Magic and King's
Bounty and is set for July. (New World
was recently
acquired by
NTN
Communica-
tions, which
transmits
interactive
trivia and
sports games
via satellite to
bars and
hotels. Jon van
Caneghem
remains at the
helm, and
now we can look forward to even more
great products from New World.
Origin
Ultima Vffl: Pagan is Origin's major
contribution to the adventure game field
this year. Set on the homeworld of the
Guardian from Ultima VII, Pagan is the
darkest of the Ultima adventures. Instead
of the usual overhead view introduced in
Ultima V7, Pagan uses an isometric view
so players can have more exciting
combat rounds and new puzzle
perspectives. [Monsters were created
with 3-D Studio, making Pagan the most
impressive Ultima since N]
The new look really works well. Make
sure you tell Origin how much you like
the flaming pentagram on Pagans cover
so they get more daring next time!
Readysoft
Robinson s Requiem is a new game bom
the French company that has produced
some other recent Readysoft games. You
play the role of an FBI agent in this game
of intrigue. The plot is very deep and the
graphics are gorgeous and extremely
detailed. This is one of those imports
that you might have to look for dili-
gently, but it will be worth every effort
Sierra On-line
Sierra only had the long-awaited
September release Phantasmagoria to
show, but it's worth every minute of
wait. Roberta Williams will take players
into a strange mansion in which the
man of the house slowly goes insane
and takes part in C?)/views horrific
events. The graphics are fully rendered
with video laid on top of the back-
grounds. It will have a simple interface
and a whole lot of story depth and
surprises. [Strategy and science fiction
fens should keep an eye out for Outpost,
a CD-only game based on NASA
technology — a real Sim City in space]
Software Toolworks
Dragon Tales is Software Toolworks'
answer to Myst and The Seventh Guest. It
is a first-person, fully-rendered CD-ROM
game in which you must rid the land of
evil in a three-chapter story. The simple
interface not only controls the adventure
interface, but also the strategy and
action/arcade elements of the game.
Dragon Tales has gorgeous graphics and
backgrounds and a lot of smooth
animation.
Spectrum Holobyte
Star Trek The Next Generation (PC, PC
CD-ROM, 3DO) will be a massive hit
when it comes out this spring. The
game features a variety of missions, all of
the show's characters and both
Enterprise and planet-based game play.
The CD games will feature digitized
speech and fully rendered backgrounds.
The first batch of games will also come
in a collector's edition box.
Strategic Simulations
SSI has three new games on the way to
satisfy different types of players. Dark
Legjons has a lot of different types of
game play and a dark, horrific edge to it
Al-Qadim is a single-character action-
heavy game in which you move a
Continued on next page
QucstBustcrs
CES ... from 5
character around in an isometric view to
conquer the evil in this AD&D land.
Ravenbji is SSI's turn to profit from
TSR's popular world of horror. It is a
party-based game in a real simulated
world. The game uses a large window
and doesn't contain as much blood as
Pavenbft fens might expect
Tsunami
Tsunami's next game will be a sequel,
Rmgworid 2, to their first two adventures.
Rmgworld 2 shows how Tsunami
listened to their customers. It has a
longer story line and more game play
than the original. Rmgworti 2 will also
have a lot of science-based puzzles,
crisper and cleaner graphics, control of
three characters and a lot of time spent
on the eight-deck space ship. (Though
they were showing Protestor 2 at CES,
Tsunami cancelled the project a few
weeks later after changing distributors.)
Virgin
Virgin didn't have any new adventure
games of their own in the works, but
they will import Beneath A Steel Sky from
the same design team who produced
Lure of the Temptress. It is a futuristic sci-
fi/mystery in which you control the
main character who is chased by a
number of people, but doesn't remem-
ber his identity.
The "virtual theater" interface is easy
to control and features the gritty, realistic
graphics backgrounds drawn by the
2000 AD comic book's Dave Gibbons.
Also look for Westwood Studio's Lands
of Lore on CD-ROM, completely
narrated by Patrick Stewart and with
other new features too!
Walt Disney
Wof is one of the strangest and most
orignal ideas for an RPG in a long time .
As a wolf in a number of scenarios/
missions, you must take over territory,
fight enemy wolves and mate when
necessary. This is role-playing of the
highest degree in a slick package with
nice, digitized footage from Disney's Tru-
Life Adventures TV show of the Fifties, an
information data base to help out and
lots of variety for nature fens.
Best Quests of CES
Because of its emphasis on story line,
cinematics, simple interface and
intelligent decision-making and
puzzles, Harvester was my favorite
NEW game of the show. The other
winners from the Winter CES show
in Las Vegas were: UnderAKShng
Moon , Noctropchs , Superhero league of
Hoboken , Pagan , StarTrek The Next
Generation , Beneath A Sted Sky and
Wolf.
There really weren't that many big parties
this time around — more like cozy
gathering instead. Before I boreyou, let's
head to the main events!
Wednesday
No computer game company had a
party tonight, but Capcom, Acclaim and
Tradewest threw soirees at three
different Las Vegas spots. First stop was
the hard-to-find Tradewest party in the
new Treasure Island casino. After
wandering around for hours and finally
stopping by Siegfried and Roy's dressing
room next door at the Mirage to ask for
directions, I managed to find the
location - only to stay for 15 minutes!
Tradewest had no games to show at this
CES, but scenes from the upcoming
Double Dragon movie festooned the
ballroom.
It was a long way to Acclaim's suite at
the Desert Inn , but as always they had
great food, drinks and company. Plus,
you could play all their games on setups
throughout the room. Thanks to
Acclaim for the Itchy & Scratchy watch in
the press kit — now my collection of
watches quickly approaches 100! The
MGM Grand was the last stop of the
night and the hoppingest party of the
show. People lingered long past closing
time and danced to the tunes of the
great band, got photos with the Street
Fighter gals and popped Mega Man
balloons! This giant lion out front acted
as the bouncer!
Thursday
There were so many parties Thursday
night, it was impossible to attend them
all. I missed the Aura Interactor
hardware audio feedback device party at
the Luxor (who use their product in one
of their rides) and the Baker & Taylor
party at Caesar's Palace. But I did stop
by the Alexis Park Hotel for Sony/
Imagesoft's small get-together to pick up
my Sony glass.
Next came Spectrum Holobyte's
wonderful Star Trek The Next Generation
party in the MGM Grand celebrating the
release of their ST:HMG game. Brent
Spiner (Data) was there for a while for
pictures and autographs, but then split
to commune with the electronics
system in the basement. [The open bar
was so generous with the Chivas, the
QB editor cracked up his rental car on
the way to the next party!]
I dropped by Casio's dinner down
the hall and received a calculator that
also contains a clock That didn't help
me to be on time for Namco's party at
Caesar's Palace's Forum Shops arcade.
Namco owns the arcade and opened it
to the press for free for three hours. And
who said arcades aren't fun!?
Friday
Friday was the las t party night — and a
slow one too! I started the night off at
the Hard Rock Cafe. Compton's New
Media plan a Tommy : The Musical CD-
ROM this year and set up a live hookup
with Pete Townshend (middle of the
night for him) from his house in
England. I got to ask Pete about his
plans for using CD-ROMs, and left with
6
duesibusters
RAGONSPHERE
PREVIEW
1 hen your father, the king, dies,
you, his heir, become king of
the realm. As the new king, you
find you have inherited the twenty-year
legacy of the Dragonsphere.
The sphere contains a dragon,
representing the imprisonment of an evil
sorcerer named Sanwe, who was
trapped by the court wizard Ner-Tom's
shield spell — which encases an entire
mountain, upon which Sanwe's tower
now stands. Lengthening cracks in the
sphere represent the weakening spell
that imprisons Sanwe. You awaken to
undertake an adventure to rid the
kingdom of Sanwe's evil which ravages
the land.
Your quest to destroy Sanwe will take
you from the land of the fair to the lands
of the fames, the shapeshifters and the
desert people. Along the way the rulers
of these lands will give you artifacts and
gifts that will help you in your quest.
After you slay Sanwe, in the persona
of the new king, you will take the
persona of Pid, a shapeshifter and set out
on another quest. This rime you must
rescue the kingdom once again from the
influence of your evil mother and
brother, who covet the throne, and to
start the kingdom on a new road of
peace and acceptance among the four
divergent races of the realm.
Dragonsphere is the last animated
graphic adventure from the MicroProse
a cool Tommy shirt and press kit
EduQuest had an event at Alexis Park
down the street from the Hard Rock
Cafe, but I could hardly call it a party
because people just sat there playing
with computers. I quickly consulted my
Casio clocVcalculator and realized that
Treasure Island was about to blow up
some ships out front again, so I hopped
a cab to the casino and saw Vegas at
their best. Is it any coincidence that the
British ship they sink six times every
night is named the Britannia? Watch
out, Richard Garriott! Vegas is out to get
you! Chicago, here 1 come... U
AGA group, which has been disbanded
in phases since the release of the Gothic
horror thriller, Return of the Phantom, and
this latest release. Thus the new and
innovative MicroProse technology that
was bom with AGA s Rex Nebular and
the Cosmic Gender Bender may regrettably
never again see the light of day. And
following their release by Spectrum
Holobyte's most recent acquisition,
MicroProse AGA group producers Matt
Gruson
and
Raymond
Benson
must
quest for
gainful
employ-
ment at
other
software
compa-
nies.
The graphics spring from a unique
video-capture technique that employs
live actors to give the characters life-like
animation, even when they are very
small. Colors used for the background
and characters meld together, eliminat-
ing the pasted-on look seen in many
other graphic adventures. The Micro-
prose graphics process integrates the
animated character and background so
they appear as an integral part of the
same world or landscape.
Thankfully, Dragon-sphere is devoid of
the arcade sequences
that seem to plague
Sierra games. The game
progresses through the
exploration of the realm
and subsequent
accumulation of objects
that, when used
appropriately, move the
story forward. These
treasure hunt puzzles are
complemented byword
puzzles that, with a little
logic (for the occasional logic puzzle)
and some avid note-taking, the main
character can use to bring most
encounters to a successful conclusion
by answering the right questions and
correctly using artifacts.
The inventory is large enough to
accommodate all the objects in the
quest, eliminating confusion over
which objects to keep and which to
throw away.
Gameplayis
further simplified
by limiting object
acquisition to
items that can be
used in the game.
Non-essential
game artifacts
cannot be
acquired. The use
of some puzzle
items is obscure,
but for the most
part the puzzle solutions are obvious if
you follow the story carefully.
Two modes are available: novice and
challenging, to give new players and
experienced players an enjoyable
gaming experience. In the novice
mode, you still survive even if you're
not as precise in adhering to the game's
challenges.
Many word puzzles are set up so
that you can't tell where your answers
were incorrect, since they wait until the
entire
Type Animated Adventure
bvf Al C Giovetti
narrative
exchange
sequence is
ended
before
killing off
your alter
ego. This
added
challenge
requires
you to
repeat the
more obscure areas of the quest many
times before being successful. The
Continued on page 14
System IBM Required: 286/
12+/DOS 3+ (386/16 & DOS 5
recommended), 2 megs RAM, 12
megs hard disk, MCGA or VGA
Supports: Ad Lib, Roland, Sound
Blaster, Pro Audio, Spectrum,
Covox, mouse (recommended)
Planned ports none
QwcstBwstcrs
7
CD
1 e're consolidating all CD news
in this column, effective
immediately, and making every
effort to sort out what's different - if
anything - about CD versions of recent
games.
CD Hits
Activision says Return to Zork
sold 300,000 games in two
months.
LucasArts
projected
shipping over
200,000 Rebel
Assaults by
Christmas. If
these aren't a sign
that the CD has
arrived, maybe
you'd better go
back out in the
yard and stare
into the sun for a
few minutes.
Fantasy Empires CD
SSI's CD Fantasy Empires has
quite a few new features. There
are six new combat spells and
three strategy spells. Timestop looks
particularly useful. You also get three
new kinds of terrain, twice as many
digitized voice samples for the Dungeon
Master (who now moves and speaks in
the intro), and your choice of designs for
your shield markers.
Conspiracy?
Virgin's "new" Conspiracy looks
suspiciously like their KGB with Donald
Sutherland video pumped in. It
wouldn't be the first time Virgin recycled
a game without mentioning it on the
cover.
Westwood's CD Hand of Fate, set for
April, will not offer any major enhance-
ments, so you may as well get the
floppy. Lands of Lore, however, has a
"History of the Lands" feature that is a
significant addition.
Natasha & the Chief
Sierra is beg™g to do more
with CDs than in the past The
CD Larry
Wis in
production
and due
out in a
few
months. Al
Lowe was
in the
studio
taping
voices as
we closed
this issue.
Interplay's 10th Anniversary CD
Sierra's upcoming CD of Quest for Glory:
Shadows of Darkness will use the voice of
Natasha from the Rocky and BuOwinkle
Show.
Police Quest TV will feature a "chat with
the chie£" if you really want Darryl Gates
on your monitor. It will also include
voices. Look for it around May, when
their other CD conversions and new
releases (Jnca 3 and Goblin Quest) will hit
the stores.
New World Computing
In May, look for a CD version of
Inherit the Forth with full speech support.
By June, the 3-D hovertank sim Zephyr
will be out (CD-only).
Interplaying for keeps
Brian Fargo was recently quoted
in a national publication as
saying that he was putting all of
Interplay's resources into CDs (though
he may have been referring to bank
RAL
CDs). Work just on Interplay's CD Star
Trek Judgement Rites. Featuring digitized
voices of the original cast, it should be
out in around six months. Star Trek 4
(no working title yet) is scheduled for
early next year.
Though the games are all straight
ports from the floppy originals, Inter-
ploy's Tenth Anniversary Anthology is a
real bargain for anyone who missed out
on Interplay's earlier adventures and
RPGs. You get a wide mix of game
styles, from Tass Times in Tonetown to
Wasteland and more recent releases such
as Castles and Star Trek 25th Anniversary.
You also get Bard's Tale I, Diugon Wars,
Battle Chess, Lord of the Rings,
Mindshadow and Out of the World.
Not adventures but still CD
We have now officially run out
of things to say about CD
adventures and role-playing
games. So let's take a quick look at some
other new CD offerings.
BuzzAddriris Race into Space introduces
modem play and a play-by-mail option.
There is also an easier 'beginner level"
game.
Strike Commander CD, Origin's first
game that is actually enhanced for CD,
eats up less than ten megs on your hard
disk, and the frame rate may be up to
twice as fast. It also includes full digitized
speech, a General Midi soundtrack, and
the 24 missions from the Tactical
Operations mission disk And it now
supports rudder pedals, has better
enemy AI, and a host of other new
features and improvements that make it
Origin's best-selling CD yet.
Nova Logic's CD Maximum Overkill
includes all the original missions and
many new ones - for a total of 100.
Reflective water, felling snow and other
new terrain features are included in the
dozen different environments. It also
now supports the vastly superior CH
Fli^itstkkRro. ft*
»
Q\4CSfBuStCTS
Me MS-DOS has dominated
the entertainment software
industry for several years, it's
surprising to see so many CD titles
become available for the Mac. Iron Helix
is one such title that's had high ratings
as a Mac game and is now available as
an MPC (Windows only) game for the
PC. To be honest, I haven't had much
luck running most MPC games off of
Windows without memory problems or
sound conflicts. So I expected problems
when I loaded Iron Helix — but didn't
get any.
The plot is simple but clever. A
starship's programming has gone wild
and, instead of doing a practice mission,
is headed off to destroy a habitable
world and precipitate a intergalactic war.
Part of the weapon's make-up is a viral
disease that mutates human DNA
structure until death occurs — so the
starship's own crewmembers cannot
enter the proper codes to stop the ship,
because the ship no longer recognizes
their DNA patterns.
You are closest to the runaway ship,
so you're asked to stop it by using a
robot probe.
You have
three probes,
therefore
three
chances, to
stop the ship
by hunting
through its
corridors to
find the
proper codes.
Except that
the corridors
aren't so
empty after
all. Yes, the crew's all dead now, but it's
not just due to the virus. A defender
robot is actively eradicating anything
that doesn't have the proper DNA code,
and your probe is at the top of its hit list.
There are four phases to the game. In
the first, you must find three top-rariking
Type : Multimedia graphic
adventure
System ibm cd-rom
Required 381/16+, 2 megs XMS,
VGA, DOS 3.3+, CD drive, mouse
Supports Sound Blaster, SVGA
VESA Recommended double-spin
CD drive
Planned ports Macintosh
CD-ROM
DNA codes that your probe's computer
can use to gain access to security rooms
and data files. After you've got the DNA
patterns, you must find the codes
hidden in different data files needed to
destroy the defender robot and get the
code for the ship's destruct sequence.
In the third phase, you must use the
proper code in the correct place to
either trap or destroy the defender
robot. And finally, you have to use the
proper code in
the right place to
activate the ship's
self-destruct
sequence. After
destroying the
defender, you
have five minutes
to activate self-
destruct; fell to do
so, and another
defender is
dispatched and
prevents the self-destruct from engaging.
An interesting replay option is
provided by the game's three difficulty
levels: beginner, intermediate and
expert. With each harder level, the
defender becomes
more aggressive in
tracking you down,
the DNA patterns
and data file codes
get harder to find,
and the methods for
trapping or destroy-
ing the defender and
activating the self-
destruct are more
elaborate. There are
also more rooms,
some hidden, to
search.
Helix's interface is very easy to use.
The upper left-hand quarter of the
screen is reserved for the hi-res SVGA
graphics window that shows the
corridors and rooms going by as your
\y\\ V3iu\ Shaffer
probe moves along. Below this, a
horizontal bar indicates a yellow or red
alert when the defender is near, six
directional keys for maneuvering your
probe, and four buttons for saving,
quitting, pausing, or examining any
notes you've collected while searching
the data files.
The upper right-hand portion of the
screen has four buttons. One allows you
to scan for stray DNA samples, another
to momen-
tarily jam
the
defender's
signal and
incapaci-
tate it long
enough to
escape
(though
this costs
£□ |— — |
you some
of your
probe's energy).
Another button arms the activator
that collects DNA samples; it also
activates data pads. The fourth button
lets you check your inventory, turn off
the scan function to save energy, or
reboot to a back-up probe if you're
about to lose all data in a damaged one.
The lower right-hand screen consists
of three maps that you can toggle
between. One shows a schematic of
your location, another die same for the
defender's surrounding, and the third
illustrates your location in reference to
the defender.
The game plays well. Overlaid with
SVGA graphics, an intro depicts the
initial mishap of the starship going
renegade. A log entry from the ship's
commander tells what happened to the
crew.
As you watch your own probe
entering the ship, the intro smoothly
segues into the start of the game as you
look down your first senes of corridors
Continued on page 14
QuestTZusters
9
and the world of Fish will aooear on
Sam and
Max
Office
Look at mouse hole and get the cash
from inside it. Get the black light
bulb from the closet that is on the for
right side of your office.
Leave the office and head toward the
stairs going down. Use man on the
railing, and Max will push him off.
Go downstairs. Outside, talk to the
cat Use Max on the cat to get your
orders. Use the car and go to the
carnival.
Carnival
Show your orders to the fire-
breathing man. Talk to the Kushman
brothers inside the tent. They will tell
you more about your assignment.
Get the swatch of hair in front of the
melted ice block
Walk to the left and get the jar that
contains Jesse James' severed hand.
Leave the tent and talk to fire
breather. Walk into the carnival
between the two tents and then go
north past the tunnel of love.
Get the magnifying lens in the Wak-
a-Rat booth. Use the mallet to play
Wak-a-Rat until you win. You need
to hit 20 rats to win the prize, which
is a flashlight Use the black light
bulb on the flashlight
Cone of Tr*set>\\
Walk to the left and talk to the Cone
of Tragedy operator. Ask about all
and you will then ride the cone. After
the ride is over, look at your inven-
tory. It will all be gone.
Talk to the cone operator and ask
about your inventory. He will give
you a claim ticket for the Lost and
Found, which is just to the right of
the fire breather. Enter tent and you
will get your inventory back plus one
extra item, a fish magnet. Look at it,
and the world of Fish will appear on
your travel map. Walk left three screens
to the car. Go to any Snuckey's.
Walk inside. Get pecan candy from top
of the left rack. You can buy a different
toy at the end rack of each Snuckey s.
These are for your enjoyment and can
be played at any time. They have no
bearing on the game. The Snuckey's in
the North sells a car bomb game, the
South sells paint by number books,
and the West branch sells dress up
books.
After Max complains about having to
use the bathroom talk to the soda jerk.
Ask about can buy a different toy game
and candy to buy them. Ask about can
buy a different toy toilet so Max can get
restroom key. When Max uses the key,
quickly end the conversation.
Rush outside and talk to Max before he
can return the key. Ask Max about the
key, and you will get to keep the rasp.
Get the Snuckey's cup that is on the
ground. Go back inside and can buy a
different toy give jar with Jesse James'
hand to the soda jerk so he can open it
for you. Return to the carnival.
Turrne) of Love
Go to the tunnel of love ride. Use the
boat. Once inside, use the flashlight
Left-click to turn it on, then look at the
wall. After the second display —
"Revenge of the Gill Guy" — is a fuse
box. Right-click on the flashlight to
leave it on. Use Max on the fusebox. It
will get shorted out, the boat will come
to a stop, and you will get out Look at
the man with the beard. Sam will pull
on it The executioner chops off the
man's head which causes the door to
open. Enter.
Talk to Doug the Mole Man. Ask about
Bruno. He goes on forever and
b\\ Staccij Vortnoii
eventually mentions his Uncle Shuv-
Oohl and the Ball of Twine where he was
last seen (it now appears on your map) .
Give Doug the pecan candy, and he will
give you a "key" to Trixie's trailer, which
is a crowbar and tell you a long story. Use
the lever to get the ride running again.
Exit.
Trixie
Walk right two screens to Trixie's trailer.
Use the crowbar on the lock to enter the
trailer. Use the hope chest to open it and
get the stiltwalker's costume. Use the
closet. Look at score card on the door. It
will go into your inventory, and Gator
Golf will appear on your map. Exit and
return to car. Go to ball of twine.
Ball of Twhie
Go to the building below the giant ball of
twine. Inside, talk to the museum
employee and ask about all. Exit and
walk to the tram. Go upstairs. When the
skycar approaches, walk in. After the
skycar stops, go to the left. You will go up
an elevator to the restaurant To the right
is a magician. Ask him about the bent
tools and he will give you one. Use the
elevator to leave and enter the stycar.
Return to the car and go to World of
Fish.
Worb of Fish
Get the bucket of fish that is under the
sign marked "fish feed." Talk to fisher-
man and ask about helicopter. To the left
is a large fiberglass fish. Use the bent tool
on the fish. Use fish to enter it. Then use
Max on the fish. The fish will get thrown
on the net and picked up by the
helicopter. You will be taken to the other
side of the restaurant on top of the ball of
Twine.
Use Max on the twine, and he will use
his teeth to bite off a piece. After the cook
comes back out, Sam and Max jump —
but in the process, you get a 91-foot
piece of twine that is automatically put
10
QucstBwsters
into your inventory. Your car will show
up. Go to Gator Golf.
Gator Golf
Walk left two screens. Get the broken
golf ball retriever from trash can. Talk to
the man about all. Walk toward the
Gator Golf sign. After the run-in with
Conroy Bumpus and Lee-Harvey, Max
will trapped in the dunk tank
Use the bucket of fish on the bucket of
golf balls to replace them. Take a golf
club. Using the dragon as a guide,
position the golf flag in front of or
behind the gators. You want the gators
to be lined up in order to make a
walkway. The program will let you
know when you have succeeded.
Use the door to free Max, and a secret
door will appear. Max gives you a piece
of sasquatch hair. Open the secret door
and look inside. You will see a sno-
globe, and the Mystery Vortex will
appear on your map. Walk south and
return to the car. Go to the Mystery
Vortex.
Mvjstervj Vortex
Enter the building and walk all the way
to the right. Go though the red curtains.
You will be upside down. Get the
sasquatch hair that is on the melting ice
block Talk to the woman about sno-
globe. Exit
Walk toward the mirror and use mirror
to enter it. There are three magnets: red,
blue and yellow. The yellow one is to
the right of the second magnet. When
you use a lever, Sam and Max will turn
to the color of the leveKs) pulled, and
the corresponding doorfe) can be
opened. This part of the game is all trial
and error, as each time you enter the
Vortex, the two doors to the right of the
mirror change colors.
You need to go through one of these
two doors. When you enter the correct
door, the scene will change. Talk to
Shuv-Oohl and ask about Bruno. He
tells you about Frog Rock and its
location. In order to help you more, he
asks you to find his mood ring he lost in
the Ball of Twine. Exit and return to car.
Go to Ball of Twine.
Twine: Moob Rins
Enter the museum. In your inventory,
use the broken golf ball retriever with
the severed hand and then the magnet.
Once the three are combined, use the
gadget on the ball. Sam will push it
inside, and the magnet will pickup the
ring. Exit and return to the Mystery
Vortex.
Vortex: SViviv-OoJil
Enter the building and go in same door
as before in order to speak to Shuv-
Oohl. Ask about the mood ring. He tells
you that at frog rock you will need to
place three samples of bigfoot hair on
the rock and sprinkle it with mole dust
which he gives you. Exit and go to Ball
of Twine.
Twine: Binoculars
Ride the skycar and go to the restaurant.
Get the exposed wires to the left of the
elevator and use them on the
binoculars. Then use the lens on the
binoculars. Use the binoculars.
When the needle is at dead center, the
binoculars will stop moving and the
name of the site you are looking at is
mentioned. Look until you find Frog
Rock recalling that Shuv-Oohl said it
was between the Ethereal Plane of Acid
Rain and the Enchanted Argyle Forest.
Hit the "escape" key to leave the
binoculars. Bat restaurant Return to car
and go to Frog Rock
Fr©5 Rock
Walk to the right Put the three samples
of bigfoot hair on the rock Use the
mole dust on the rock A flying saucer
appears and leaves you the message: Go
to Bumpusville. Do as you were told.
Bumpusvillc
Enter the building. Go left and get
picture of John Muir. Walk to the far
right room, which has a monster truck
in it Walk to the truck Get the pillow
with the hair tonic on it Look at the
bookshelf. Use retriever with the severed
hand to get the book on top shel£ the
one that deals with the operation of
maintenance droids.
Leave and find droid. Use droid. Sam
will open it up. Plug in the blue wire
and make sure all the others are
unplugged. The droid only goes into
rooms that are green. Hit "escape," and
the droid will do what is programmed.
The droid will cause the alarm to go off,
and Lee-Harvey will investigate.
Dr^son in the Cave
Go right twice and up into the room
with the green plaque above the door.
Get the virtual reality helmet. Get the
sword and save the game. Approach
the cave to get the dragon to come out.
Step backward and quickly change to
the sword. Use sword on the dragon.
After killing it, get the heart Inside is a
key that can go into your inventory.
Exit and go to the far left room. Bruno
and Trixie are there. Use key on lock to
turn off alarm, and Bruno and Trixie
will come out of their trance. They
mention they are late for a bigfoot party
at the Jungle savage Inn that is only for
bigfoots and their dates. Return to car
and go to Jungle Inn (volcano on the
map).
Enter the inn. Try to go through the
door that the bigfoot is blocking. Talk to
the bigfoot guard. He will mention his
foot problem. Give him the rasp.
Talk to the woman behind the desk and
ask about all. After the conversation is
over, she gives you some brochures.
Look at them. Two new places will
show up on your map: Mount
Rushmore Dinosaur Tarpit and Bungee
Jumping National Park (dinosaur on
map) and the Celebrity Vegetable
Continued on page 1 3
QuestTZusters
11
Quest for Glonf 4
Dark One's Cave (Magic-using
character): look at creature and book
Cross rope. Cast Dazzle. Cast Fetch (at
book). Exit right. Climb up on altar. Use
Erana's staff on Ad Advis. Tell Ultimate
Joke (learned from Gnome.) Use staff
on Ad Advis again, then use staff on
crystal. Watch scene.
Erana's Garden: Cast Detect Magic.
Cast Fetch (at red spot on tree). Cast
Trigger (at lake). Cast Open at tulip bud.
Cast Fetch at scroll.
Domovi, night two: exit room when
tired, ask Domovi about help. Enter
bedroom. Sleep until morning. Eat. Exit
hotel. Walk to monastery. Use Dark
sign on door. Use rehydration solution
(from Dr. Cranium on day 3, traded for
flask of grue goo near bonsai bush) on
dried-out object. Give hexapod garlic.
Use fireplace. Cast Open at desk. Look
thru desk Drink wine. Bum Big Book.
Adventurers Guild (Thief character
only) : Unlock door (get key from
Burgeomeister by asking about Guild).
Sign logbook Read logbook. Get rope
and grapnel. Look at bookcase. Read all
books. Use stair-stepper. Use grapnel on
ring on ceiling. Climb rope. Get grapnel.
Look under desk (note pattern and
numbers). Use hooks. Solve puzzle by
moving hooks under desk Climb
bookcase.
Zachary Borovicka
Arcade sequence: use the game
controls to slow down this sequence if
you are having trouble with it. You can
slow it down even more by punching
your computers "turbo" button to
reduce the computers speed from 33 to
25, or 25 to 16 MHz
Al Giovetti
Gabriel Kni5Jit
Day 8: When you awake, take the key
from the table at the bottom of the bed.
It will open the large carved door and
lead you to the secret library. In the
library, "look" at the center bookcase on
the back wall. Read the People's Republic
book "Look' on the right bookcase and
read The Primal Ones. "Look' at the left
wall bookcase and read Ancient Poors of
Africa. "Look" at the far left bookcase for
the Sun Worshippers book. "Look' at the
lower far right bookcase for Ancient Digs
of Africa. After you read all these books,
The Snake Mound book appears. Get it,
and you will be able to fly to Africa later
on Day 8.
R Holbrook
Warriors of Legend
The Lava Pits: Eventually you will arrive
at the Lava Pits. Save the game. Cross
the bridge to the east, noting the safe
spots. Once you're safely across, follow
the path to the door. Prepare a Flaming
Death spell. Save game. Enter door and
slay the Dragons.
Enter the left tunnel and get all items.
Return to where you encountered the
Dragons. Enter the right tunnel. Talk to
Madure, then quichfy hit him with a
Flaming Death spell. Enter chamber to
Right and get the Chaos key and
another key. Retrace your steps and
return to liandria.
In Liandria, sell your loot and buy spells,
ingredients, weapons and armor. If your
money is still limited, at least buy the
Freeze, Paralyze and Magic Fire scrolls,
and the necessary ingredients. Heal and
Resurrect will come in handy too. Exit
Liandria.
F.J. Philipp and C. F. Shaffer
Davj of theTentecU
Miscellaneous hints: Bernard should
open all doors and look behind them
(trade keys for crowbar). Annoy the
residents by putting the speaker on the
floor and aiming on the stereo. Instead
of flushing items between the charac-
ters, "give item to" works faster and
from any location. Give decaf to Doctor
Fred, then videotape his actions (you
must push Edna out first). Let Hoagie
mail the signed contract. Laveme should
use the tiny sweater on the cold, wet
hamster (after dethawing him).
John Beck
D^rk Svm
Wyrm School: Balkazar cannot be
killed unless you destroy his power
focus. Several books scattered around
will help you determine what it is. If not,
try using Reflection.
After destroying Balkazar, stand next to
the mixing bowl in his quarters and use
the Terror Extract on it. Next, dip an
Obsidian Dagger in it - the one off the
floor will do. This produces a Tenor
Blade, a + 2 Dagger that poisons and
makes a very effective weapon.
Johnny Ganet Jr.
Critical VMh
Scene 1, Tunnel doors: press space bar
to answer KAT.
Scene 2, MCL established: enter 123
on detonator.
Scene 3, Ore carts: enter 152 on
detonator.
Scene 4, Conveyor belt: stop belt by
pressing button E when Kat awakes.
Then start belt when blood orange
draws his gun.
Scene 5, Furnace: press button J to
open chute when Kat is surrounded.
Scene 6, Crane: press unlabeled button
G to use crane.
Scene 7, Catwalks: Lead Kat left,
forward, left, left, forward, right, right,
left, right, then straight through door.
Scene 8, Hallway: Go right toward
faucet. Answer yes to Kat.
Scene 9, Packing room: Go right.
Scene 10, Water Tower: Enter 666 on
detonator.
Scene 11, Torture Chamber: Enter
451 on detonator.
QwestBwsters
Saw & Max ..from 11
Museum (tomato on map). Exit and go
to vegetable museum.
Ve5eteb1e Museum
Walk to the right. Get Conroy Bumpus
eggplant from the container. Talk to the
lady. Give her the John Muir picture,
and she will turn it into a squash that
you can pick up later. Return to the car
and go to Mount Rushmoie Park
Kevfs ..from 12
Scene 12, Electric Chair: Enter 91 1 on
detonator.
Scene 13, Elevator shaft: Press button
N to blow siren and win the game.
Joseph J. Courter
Ster Trek:
judgement Rites
Light and Darkness, the samples: Use
medical tricorder on blue and yellow
sample dishes. Use blue sample on
DNA sequencer. Talk to Ensign. 3. 1. 3.
3. Use yellow sample on sequencer.
Use blue sample again. Use Ensign on
sequencer. Use Ensign on replicator.
Take new sample. Use medical tricorder
on green sample. North. Use tricorder
on computer. Insert sample into port.
Use tricorder on projection. Talk to
Cicissa. 3. $ft
Paul Shaffer
This month contributor R. Hol-
brook was randomly selected to
receive the game of his choice — so
send in your clues & tips today, so
we can fill two pages in the next
issue. (All submissions become
property of Eldritch, LTD until
May 12, 2317 A. D.)
Mt* Rushmore Park
Walk to bungee jumping and then go
to the right of the tarpit slide. Enter the
elevator. Talk to the instructor. Use the
screen to put the equipment on. Use
the bungee cord to jump off. Use
Snuckey's cup on the golf retriever, then
use it on tarpit to get some tar. Use
screen to take off equipment.
Enter elevator. Walk to the animal
display on the left. Look at the wooly
mammoth to see that the mammoth
hair is similar to sasquatch hair. Use
Max, and he will chomp off some hair.
Listen to T-Rex speak by using speaker
box by his foot; while his mouth is
open, use the rope on it. Then use Max
on the rope. Sam will throw Max to the
car, and the tooth will be pulled out
Enter the car and go to the vegetable
museum.
Ve5eteb1e Museum
Talk to the lady about the squash, and
she will give you the gourd of John
Muir. Return to car and go to
Bumpusville.
Bvitupvisville: Toupee
Enter the building and go to the far right
room. Use the Conroy Bumpus
eggplant on the toupee. Sam will switch
them, but the alarm goes off and Lee-
Harvey kicks you out. Get in car and go
to Jungle Inn
Bisfoot Party
Enter the inn. You can now create a
bigfoot costume. In your inventory, use
tar on hair, and then use hair on
soltwalker's costume. Now use the
toupee on the costume. Use the
costume, and you will go into the
phone booth to put it on. The guard
will let you into die party.
Get the bottle of wine from the table.
Enter the door that is to the right of the
stage. Enter the freezer room and take
the ice pick Open the back door, and
in comes Conroy and Lee-Harvey.
Talk to Conroy. He believes you are a
bigfoot. To convince him you are not,
use the costume. You will take it off.
Now Conroy wants to wear the
costume so he can infiltrate the bigfoots,
and he and Lee-Harvey steps into the
freezer to put it on. Use Max on the
freezer door to shut them in.
A Yeti chief comes in and makes you an
honorary chief. He takes you to the four
great totem poles. He believes they are
the answer to saving his race and asks
for your help in solving their secret.
Look at each of the four totem poles.
Walk to the left and return to car. Go to
the Ball of Twine.
Twine: Corkscrew
Go to the magician in the restaurant.
Give him the ice pick, and he will bend
it into a corkscrew. Exit. Return to the
car and go to Mystery Vortex.
Vortex: Stio~5lobe
Enter and go through the door with the
curtains. Use corkscrew on the wine
bottle to remove the cork Use cork on
the sno-globe. Use the mini-vortex
machine. When you are inside and
machine is turned on by the woman,
use the globe to fill it up with mystical
energy. Exit and return to car. Go to the
Jungle Inn.
)un$)e Imi: Totem Poles
Enter the Inn. Go past the guard and
through the door to the left
of the stage. Click about
an inch above Bruno's
head to walk to the hot
tub. Give the chief the
items that the totem
poles represent.
From left to right,
they are the sno-globe, [z
the dinosaur tooth, the
John Muir vegetable,
and the pillow with
the hair tonic. ift
Quest&usters
13
Dt%x50vtspJiere ..from 7
process was made even more madden-
ing by an error in the Butterfly King
exchange logic puzzle that penalizes
those who understand the game too
much. [This is a preview, of course, so
we can expect this and other problems
to be cleared up before the final release.]
The neo-classical music and the
sound effects, fit with the fantasy
adventure theme of dragons, wizards,
kings, castles and wicked stepmothers.
Music is enjoyable enough that you may
not even turn it off.
You can save a virtually infinite
number of games. This will be necessary
to sort out the convoluted plot, which
keeps you returning to each land many
times, thus completing the quest in
piece-meal fashion.
One glaring deficiency in the
otherwise pure composition of this
swords and sorcery opera is the lack of a
magic map to facilitate getting from one
place to another. Another problem is
the game's small size. There are 52
background locations, which is
substantially smaller than games such as
Shadows of Darkness. Regardless of the
great graphics, long and involving story
line, interesting characterizations, clever
puzzles and other nice features of this
game, Dragonspheres lack of scope
detracts from its overall perfection.
Recently Micro Prose was acquired
by Spectrum Holobyte and received an
extensive marketing overhaul with the
goal of positioning the company
aggressively in an entrenched but rapidly
expanding marketplace. Hopefully
MicroProse will survive — for the sake
of their excellent flight simulators and
ever enjoyable Sid Meier strategy games.
It is, however, lamentable that
economic necessities have resulted in
the abrupt demise of the emerging
excellence of the Micro Prose animated
graphic adventure. Please let us pause in
a moment of silence for the departed
and dig deep in our wallets to contrib-
ute to this now dead art form by
purchasing the three now-classic games
produced. 4tt
\ron Helix... from 9
and begin scanning for scattered DNA.
The sense of movement through the
halls is smooth, and the sound effects
are quite good.
At first it is difficult to juggle the tasks
of avoiding the relentless defender,
manipulating the maps to ensure a
thorough search, and scanning for
DNA But you do get accustomed to it
In the first five minutes, I wasn't sure the
game would hold my attention for long
Q kept getting fried by the defender) .
Once I learned how to use the elevator
and ladders to keep a couple of steps
ahead of the killer robot, though, I
became committed to finishing what I'd
started.
Three hours later, and after several
restores, I smiled with satisfaction as I
trapped the defender in one of the
hallways, having lured it in with my
probe as bait, then using the security
system to secure the bulkheads and seal
it in. It was with even greater glee that I
accessed the program that drained the
defender of all its energy and destroyed
it. Next to that, activating the ship's self-
destruct was just wrapping up business
— with the defender, it had become a
personal vendetta.
Iplayed the banner mode and had
a good workout, so I can imagine how
tough it gets at the higher levels. But
having seen other sections of the ship
that were off limits to me in beginner
mode, I was really curious how the story
would change at difficulty settings.
Conclusions: While I don't consider
Iron Helix a must-have game, it certainly
was thoroughly well-done. The higher
levels offer greater difficulty and a more
involved plot, but the quickie satisfac-
tion of having beaten it once on the easy
level may not motivate you to come
back for more. Recommended. $
Skill Level: (fester-adjustable
Company. Spectrum Holobyte
Price: $59
QuestBusters price: $49
Quest for Glorvf .from 1
and people in the town from conversa-
tions. Simply click on subjects when
you talk to characters to hear what they
have to say. Their topics may change
when you return to them, depending
on what you've done in-between talks,
so you should always try to talk to
characters every time you run into them.
Combat is a joy for players of all
types. Those who want an arcade mini-
game can click on the opponents to
strike blows or cast spells in real time.
Those who hate action games can guide
the actions of their character in a strategy
mode, or just let the computer handle
combat completely.
In a nod to the Dr. Brain games (a
series started by Corey Cole), the town's
mad scientist Dr. Cranium (a distant
relative of Brain) has a laboratory that
requires solving a few Dr. Brain-like
puzzles before you can get inside.
The horror aspects of Shadows are
tongue-in-cheek Monsters are equally
goofy and scary. You will encounter
most of them in the forest as you
wander around. The honor references
are many, and they contribute to the
game's atmosphere and the occasional
silliness. Though Shadows was designed
to be the horror-based game in the
Questfor Glory series, it comes across as
a B-movie.
I definitely recommend replaying
Shadows with each character type. The
second and third times will be a little
easier because you'll know your way
around the forest and certain events or
story elements. But the game is long
enough and contains enough variety in
each version that it's like you get three
games in one.
Conclusions: Lori and Corey Cole are a
wonderfully entertaining duo of game
designers and masters of storytelling.
Shadows continues their saga and further
improves the unique game interface that
combines graphic adventures tech-
niques and role-playing character
development IS
Skill Level: Intermediate
Company: Sierra On-line
Price: $69.95
QuestBusters price: $59
QuestBusters
Swap Shop
Swap Shop ads are no longer free!
We are accepting nothing but clues
for recent quests (to appear in our
Keys to the Kingdoms section) in
exchange for ads. Please type your
ad and include with your clue. 10
games per ad, original software with
boxes only. * = clue book included.
MSDOS & Quest-alikes
Want clue book for Summoning. Daryl
Dally, 621 N Wakefield St, Arlington VA
22203
Sell/trade, 3", $30: 'Return to Zork. $25
each: Lands of Lore & walkthni, M&M
Clouds of Xeen, Siena box set of 3
(King's Quest 5, Red Baron, Rise of
Dragon). $7 each: 5" Conquest of
Longbow EGA, Savage Empire, Martian
Dreams. M&M3, $20. Add $3 shipping on
1 st game. D Alexander, 451 0 Monac Dr,
Toledo OH 43623
Sell only, $35 each: Hell Cab, 'Return to
Zork (both CD). $25 each: *Lands of Lore,
The Humans. $10 each: *Ultima
Underworld 1 , *Eye 2. Add $3 shipping
per order. H Richer, 888 W Knoll Dr #305,
W Hollywood CA 90069
Sell only, $19 each: Space Quest 4, Lany
5, Quest for Glory 2, Codename: Iceman,
Conquest of Camelot $1 5 each: King's
Quest 1 VGA, Lany 1 VGA, Police Quest
1, Manhunter2, Gold Rush. Kevin Tyrrell,
38 Coleman Rd, Arlington MA 02174
Sell only, all 3": Shadow of Yserbius,
*Atone in Dark, $25 each. Magnetic
Scrolls collection, $20. Robert Kraus,
3038 N Christiana, Chicago IL 60618
Sell only, all 3", $25 each: Red Crystal,
Shadowcaster, Wolfenstein Spear of
Destiny, Lands of Lore, Shadow of
Yserbius, Fantasy Empires, Flashback.
$20 each: Castles, Four Crystals of
Trazere. Richard Rosenberg, 79 E Post
Rd, White Plains NY 10601
Trade/sell: Bloodwych, $15. Will buy
Bard's Tale, Ultima 4, Ultima 7 w/Forge of
Virtue, Ultima 7 Part 2 w/Silver Seed,
Underworld 1 , Underworld 2, Wizardry 4,
Tangled Tales, any SSI, more. Troy
Montour, 100 Panorama Ave NE, Fridley
MN 55421
Sell, 5": Pool of Darkness, $22. 1 pay
postage. Want Bane of Cosmic Forge
clue book J Wilkes, 3189 Hane^s
Branch, Huntington WV 25704
Sell/trade, CD only: Wing Commander
& Ultima 6, $15. $20 each: Sherlock
Vol. 1 , Loom. $25 each: Indy & Atlantis,
King's Quest 6, Murder Makes Strange
Deadfelbws. $30 each: 7th Guest,
Sherlock Vol 3. Harvey Chin, 7758
Hansom Dr, Oakland CA 94605
Sell: Day of Tentacle, Companions of
Xanth, Shadowcaster, Hand of Fate.
Will buy/trade for Ultima VII & Silver
Seed, and new CDs. Austin Hendricks,
155 Newell St, PrttsfieJd MA 01201
Sell only, $19 each: Larry 1 (VGA) and
5, King's Quest 1 VGA, Police Quest 1
& 2, Manhunter 1 & 2, Quest for Glory
2, Codename Iceman, Gold Rush.
Kevin Tyrell, 38 Coleman Rd, Arlington
MA 02174
Trade/sell, $30: 7th Guest CD, Prince
of Persia 2, *Day of Tentacle CD,
*King's Quest 6 CD, Maximum Overkill.
$20 each: Indy & Fate of Atlantis,
Space Quest 5, Legend of Kyrandia,
Eric Unready. Joe Marietta, 2812 W
Meadow Wood Dr, Chesapeake VA
23321
Trade only. *Cbuds of Xeen, Under-
world 1 , Dark Savant, Lands of Lore.
Want: Krondor, Legacy: Realm of
Terror, Space Hulk, Day of Tentacle
CD, Eye of Beholder 3 CD. Johnny
Garrett Jr, 41 048 Brown Rd,
Ponchatoula LA 70454
Trade/sell: Quest for Glory 1 (VGA), 3 &
4; Clouds and Darkside of Xeen, Inca,
Space Hulk, Dark Sun. Want Larry 6,
King's Quest 6, Civilization,
Shadowcaster, Kyrandia 2, Xanth,
more. Daniel Bulmer, 1 163 Union Rd,
Victoria, BC Canada V8P 2J2
Sell, $254 each: Red Crystal, Darkside
of Xeen, many more. R Prero, 12659
Eckard Way, Auburn CA 95603
Trade/sell, $20: Dark Sun, Clouds &
Darkside of Xeen, *Ultima Underworld,
more. Want Ultima 6, Dark Savant, etc.
Write for list. Robert Olsen, 201 W
Vineyard Ave #144, Oxnard CA 93030
Trade: Ultima 7, Spear of Destiny,
*Dark Savant, Clouds of Xeen, Indy &
Fate of Atlantis, King's Quest 6, Space
Quest 4. Want Eye 3, Darkside of
Xeen, Ultima 7, Quest for Glory 3,
Kyrandia, or your list Richard Cariin,
107th St, Richmond Hill NY
11418 fa
Gabriel Kni5Vit ... from 3
graphic novel that sets up the historical
background to the game. The artwork is
very good, and the cover looks like it
came straight off a Sandman comic
book
Gabriel Knight's music and sound
effects complete the illusion of total
immersion into the game's events that
the graphics started. The scone is
haunting. The sound effects are clear
and realistic.
CD specials
The CD version is a must for those with
the equipment. In addition to the music
and sound effects that disk users get, it
also contains the finest assembly of voice
talent so far in a multimedia game. Tim
Curry plays the part of Gabriel. His
performance alone is worth the CD
purchase, but players will also hear such
people as Michael Dom, Mark Hamill,
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. , Rocky Carroll and
LeahRemini.
Is it a coincidence that both Efiem
Zimbalist, Jr. and Mark Hamill also
starred in the recent animated movie
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm? Not at all.
A little time with the CD version of
Gabriel Knight will quickly show why
these actors and actresses do this type of
work.
Conclusions: When I first played a
demo of a single day in the game back in
August, Gabriel Knigfrt blew me away
with its atmosphere and intelligent
storyline. The finished product pro-
duced the same effect Jensen worked
hard to get Knight out, and her influ-
ences and the efforts of the design team
shine through. Those players who have
been waiting for a game from Sierra with
a little more edge will not be disap-
pointed. Jensen's take on New Orleans
and suspense is a long way from the
sunny skies of Daventry. fa
Skill Level: Intermediate
Price: $59.95
QuestBusters price: $49
Company. Sierra On-line
QuestBusters
if
Celebrating
>ing up & downing
r over,&screaminc
insane into the str
iboutlOYearsof
iestBusters!
Dragonsphere
Eternam
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father
The Hand of Fate
Innocent Until Caught
Kronolog
Lands of Lore
The Legacy: Realms of Terror
r Leisure Suit Larry 6
.Xost in Time
Police Quest IV
k Quest for Glory IV
Return to Zork
Sam and Max
Seventh Guest
Shadowcaster
Simon the Sorcerer
Star Trek: Judgement Rites
Warriors of Legend
Order any two Looks,
and the shipping is free
to USA or Canada, 1/2
off regular shipping to
overseas.
The Book of Clues (35 solutions) $19
Keys to the Kingdoms $19
(24 solutions see final line-up with a
few new walkthrus on the right)
Quest for Clues 2 or 3 $25
(40 solutions in each)
Book of Swords $17
Book of Orbs $17
(20 solutions in each)
Official Book of Ultima $17
(Ultimas 1-7, Underworld 1, Savage
Empire, Martian Dreams)
Space Quest Companion $20
Bloodnet
Companions of Xanth
Curse of Enchantia
Dark Sun
Dracula Unleashed
To USA, add $3 shipping per book,
game; $2 each on additional items.
To APO & Canada, add $4/$2.
Overseas, add $12/$8. VISA/
Mastercard, check or postal money
order. AZ residents add 5% sales
tax.
QyicstBustcrs
PO Box 85143
Tucson AZ 85754
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